Monday, August 27, 2007

Sunday status

Well, nowhere near the 3K I'd hoped for, but honestly I didn't expect to get it after I overslept this morning (that's what I get for staying up till 5 am!) and missed my first writing window.  I had to wait until I got home, and even on a long night my record is 2600 words.  I don't want to get back into the cycle of exhaustion that held me back last week, so even though I'm still awake and could probably continue to write, I'm going to bed now.

I did manage a respectable 1100 words, and I'm actually really pleased with the scene.  I finished up with a couple paragraphs of notes that should keep me moving through the rest of this arc tomorrow.  7K in 5 days.  Not impossible.

Following Jen's most excellent example, I'll probably post snips from what I work on each night as a way to share my progress and keep me motivated.  Here's tonight's (it's kinda long):

From One Highland Night (c) 2007

     Another step, and the crystal brightened.  She must be near the point of confluence.  Just walk forward, and the portal would, presumably, open.  She could leave certain danger behind, and the heartache she knew would come when Alec eventually wed wee Janet Cameron.  She could go home.

     Home.  Home meant safety, the comfort of the familiar.  Seeing her brother again, her cat…even her father.  This place, this time—they were not her own.  But home meant loneliness, too.  The pain of abandonment.  That is, if the wormhole even returned her there.  The possibility existed that she'd end up in another place and time altogether.  Or…nowhere.

     She looked to Alec, torn.  He fought two soldiers, plaid swinging and sword flashing.  Sparks flew as his blade met those of his opponents, clash after clash.  It startled her; she'd thought that a special effects gimmick in the movies.  This was no gimmick. The gentleness and humor she loved about him were gone from his face, replaced by a fierce scowl of concentration.  He was every inch the Highland warrior.  He'd risked himself, his friends, and retribution against his clan to rescue her.  In Glasgow, he'd taken her to see Isaac Newton.  And before all that he'd found a place for her within his clan, who had—slowly, to be sure, and with much coaxing—accepted her.

     Go or stay?  The men fought, the sun rose, and every second wasted brought them closer to certain capture, but still she hestitated.

     And then she saw him.  Half in shadow, one of Campbell's men slunk toward Alec from behind.  His knife gleamed dully in the increasing light of dawn.  Alec remained occupied with the soldiers at his front, new ones come to replace their fallen colleagues. 

     Going unnoticed was no longer an option.  She stepped away from the wall and shouted, "Alec!  Behind you!"

     But he did not hear her.  The Campbell crept closer.  Her choice was made.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

you overslept??? no wonder you weren't there when I finally logged in at 11.30 (I was supposed to get up at 9...) I wrote a paltry few hundred words in the am before going off to Ryan's parents'... We'll see about today; if I get in about 1200 words a day from until the end of the 70 Days, I'll still meet my 60K goal *fingers crossed*
:-)

Jenny said...

Deniz -

Did I oversleep?

OH yeah... DH and BB left for church at 11 and I was still in bed. I meant to get up shortly, but when they got back at 1 (!) they woke me up. Too late at that point to get anything done, as the party started at 2 and I still had to get dressed. But at least I got enough sleep for a change!

Go, go, go girl! You can do it! (We can be sweat buddies - that's about my daily target anymore.)